Housing Department Aims for 8 New Builds at Sullivan Hollow Development Area
By Stephen Watt, Director, Housing Department
During the first half of 2021, deep into the Covid-19 pandemic, the people of the Seneca Nation were experiencing coronavirus positivity rates at levels higher than the population of New York State (NYS). For example, in the month of March 2021, NYS had a positivity range of 3.1% to 3.8%, while Seneca positivity rate in the same month was 6.1%.
The reasons for this disparity were numerous and created significant threat for the Seneca population. In the Housing Department, one of the causes identified was overcrowding in existing housing on the territory where there is limited inventory and families crowding together into larger households.
In response to the Covid-19 disparity and the housing needs of the Seneca population, the Housing Department submitted a request to the Council’s Budget and Finance Committee in August 2021 to seek a grant for new home construction in the Sullivan Hollow development area on the Allegany Territory.
The purpose was to seek funding for additional on-territory housing opportunities for families living in overcrowded conditions by constructing single-family homes to help alleviate these conditions.
A grant was sought from the federal American Rescue Plan Act’s (ARPA) Covid-19 funds through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Indian Community Development Block Grant Imminent Threat (ICDBG-IT) initiative. The requirement was that the funds be used to prevent, prepare for and/or respond to the coronavirus threat on the territories. The threat of overcrowding was already identified and became the basis for the response.
The Housing Department received the grant with goal of building eight new three-bedroom homes in the existing Sullivan Hollow Development area. Plans have been put together in conjunction with the Executive Offices and the Council’s Task Force on Housing and now we are putting the first steps in motion. Here’s an outline of what will be happening:
Infrastructure Development
A contractor was selected after a round of requests for proposals to prepare the site by constructing a road, install water lines, sewer and drainage, extend electric lines and put in driveways. Above is a map of the new site, which will be prepared for 13 sites, leaving five sites for future development.
The Houses
After the infrastructure is completed the houses will be brought on site by Twin Lakes Homes, Inc., the selected bidder after a round of requests for proposals to provide eight modular three-bedroom homes. In their bid they provided a floor plan for the following home that was selected:
As we continue to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic and take action to address its impact and guard against future issues, this work will be starting soon. When there’s an exact start date the residents of Sullivan Hollow will be informed. The Nation’s elected leadership, the Council’s Task Force on Housing, and the Housing Department remain committed to the goal of expanding housing opportunities on the territories.
Note: there will be future work as well, probably early next year, to install a new waste water treatment facility to integrate the individual septic tanks into one sewer system. More information will be provided later.
Water System Project at Sullivan Hollow
In the past, the water system at Sullivan Hollow has contained iron and manganese levels, which are naturally occurring minerals in the soil and groundwater, which made it objectionable for drinking, cooking and laundering. As a result the former Sullivan Hollow well house pump station had significant issues with its potable water system.
The recently completed Sullivan Hollow water system project replaced the aged well house with a new facility designed to remove the targeted contaminants to comply with current water standards. The new well house is using filters designed to remove iron and manganese to provide pure, usable drinking water. The new building has booster pumps, chlorination and enhanced filters. The old building is used for storage now. In addition, a water storage tank (pictured) was constructed to provide water pressure, to act as a settling tank to filter out some of the impurities in the water, and for water storage in case there’s need in event of a fire.
CAUTION NOTICE: For Residents and Visitors of Sullivan Hollow Area
During construction in the Sullivan Hollow area, please be aware of the following:
- Construction vehicles (and at times, large equipment) will be in the area using North and/or South Authority Road to get to the construction site.
- Please watch children and keep children away from the construction site. Fencing will be built, and signage will be put up. The contractors have been made aware that families live in the area and to use extreme caution.
- Construction work will continue from late Spring, right through to late Fall.
